ADVANCED SLEEP
Sleep is the restorative phase of our day. The brain generates two distinct types of sleep—slow-wave sleep (SWS), known as deep sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, also called dreaming sleep. Most of the sleeping we do is of the SWS variety, characterized by large, slow brain waves; relaxed muscles; and slow, deep breathing, which may help the brain and body to recuperate after a long day.
The four stages of sleep are:
NREM (Non Rapid Eye Movement) –: This stage lasts from five to ten minutes on average. During this stage your muscles relax and your eye movement slows.
Light Sleep –: This is the next stage, ; during this stage your eye movement stops, your body temperature drops and your heart rate slows. We You spend the majority of your sleep in this stage.
Deep Sleep –: The next stage is deep sleep. The brain is generating delta waves and your muscle and eye activity completely stop. During this stage of sleep your heart rate and breathing rates are the slowest.
REM (Rapid Eye Movement) –: This is your dreaming sleep, a. Although this is a deep sleep you brain is working hard, as seen by rapid eye movement. The body typically enters REM around 90 minutes into sleep.
The ideal amount of REM and Deep deep Sleep sleep per night is 1.5 hours or 20- to 25% percent each of your total sleep.
A healthy amount of sleep is critical for “brain neuroplasticity,” or the brain’s ability to adapt to input. If we don’t sleep enough, we become unable to process what we’ve learned and decrease our ability to remember it. During sleep, our brain’s glymphatic system, which is the brain’s cellular waste cleaning system, is activated, removing waste byproducts from brain cells. This process is less effective during the day. During sleep, our brains also sort through information and store and discard information.
Not only does sleep affect our cognitive performance, but it also impacts our emotional health. Studies have revealed that sleep deprivation can contribute to mood swings, anxiety, and depression, which ultimately diminish our motivation to engage in activities that are beneficial to our health, such as physical exercise and socialization. As reported in the Journal of Neuroscience, after one sleepless night, activity in the nucleus accumbens area of the brain had diminished. The nucleus accumbens releases the neurotransmitter dopamine, which heightens feelings of pleasure and decreases sensations of pain. According to the researchers, a sleepless night caused anxiety levels to spike by up to 30 percent. In addition, the team discovered that sleep deprivation heightened the body’s tendency to feel pain.
Sleep is vital to the rest of the body too. When people don’t get enough sleep, their health risks rise. Seizures, high blood pressure, and migraines worsen. Immunity is compromised, increasing the likelihood of illness and infection. Sleep also plays a role in metabolism—: even one night of poor sleep can create a prediabetic state in an otherwise healthy person. In a study, one night of sleep deprivation reduced insulin sensitivity by 33%. percent. Poor sleep can also lead to decreased libido and increased systemic inflammation in the body.
Fortunately, there are different means of monitoring and enhancing our sleep habits. I track and optimize my sleep with an Oura Ringring. (We’ll discuss More sleep tracking, and biometrics, and biohacking technology tracking more in the Chapter Sixbiohacking technology section of the book.) It is also important to note that yYou do not have need to have sleep tracking tech to know if you are sleeping well or not—, an energy and state assessment upon waking is sufficient. If you feel well rested and energetic, that is a great sign that you had a proper nightsnight’s sleep. On the other hand, if you either know you didn’t have enough hours or you wake up feeling groggy and lethargic, it is clear that you need to work on your sleep.
If you wake up feeling groggy and lethargic, it is clear that you need to work on your sleep.
Actionable ways to improve your sleep
Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Our bodies are designed to sleep and wake at the same time daily. If we are constantly changing our sleep schedule, our biological preparation for sleep (the release of the hormone melatonin) won’t be on a schedule. Consistency in your sleep/wake schedule is key. You should maintain this consistency even on weekends and vacations.
Don’t eat too late –. When we eat a large meal too close to bed, our bodies will prioritize digesting the food over the deeper stages of sleep. Although eating before bed won’t necessarily keep you awake, it can keep you out of the deeper stages of sleep. Aim to stop eating 3-4 hours prior to bed, but the earlier the better!
Don’t drink alcohol –. Alcohol is a neurotoxin and will significantly decrease your quality of sleep. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and can cause feelings of drowsiness. This is why many people convince themselves that they need a drink at night to fall asleep, because, Yes, alcohol can make you feel sleepy, but it will then wreck the quality of your sleep throughout the night.
Statistics show that low amounts of alcohol (less than one drink for women and less than two drinks for men) decreases sleep quality by 9.3%. percent.
Moderate alcohol consumption (two drinks for men and one drink for women) decreases sleep quality by 24%. percent.
High amounts of alcohol (more than two drinks for men and more than one drink for women) decreases sleep quality by 39.2 percent.%
Drinking alcohol suppresses the REM cycles and can lead to frequent sleep disturbances. There are many reasons to reduce or eliminate your alcohol consumption if you want to become a superhuman, but impacting your sleep is a massive reason.
Block out blue light several hours before bed. We live in a world where in which we are attached to our devices from the moment we open our eyes, to the moment that we close them. For better health overall it is best to set limits on screen time, but it is particularly important when we are preparing our bodies and brains for sleep. I suggest putting away technology at least one hour before bed, but if that is impossible for you, I suggest using the red version of blue light blocking glasses before sleep. (tThe yellow ones are better for the daytime, and the red lenses are best for the evening.) You can wear these one to three hours before sleep.
You can also change the color filters on your phone and computer to switch to completely red if you do not want to get the glasses. Google “red light phone trick” and it will walk you through the steps. You can also set this up on your computer. The iphoneiPhone does have settings that can change the color and temperature of the screen with the time of day, but the red color filters or red light phone and computer hack is significantly better. You also want to avoid bright lights in your home., I recommend getting a red light for your bedroom to use in the evening hours, or a few that you can place throughout your home and use them exclusively in the evening hours.
Put your body into a parasympathetic state at least an hour before. Most of our days are spent in fight- or- flight mode, but for high quality sleep we have to relax our minds and our bodies. You can do this with a meditation practice, breath work, or reading a relaxing book. You have toshould avoid watching anxiety-inducing content before bed.
This should be a no-brainer, but if you like to binge on crime shows (which I don’t believe is a great habit in general) don’t do it before bed. You also shouldn’t check emails or any other content that may cause you stress before bed. WeYou want to be as relaxed as possible. If you have ruminating thoughts at night when you are in bed, keep a journal nearby so you can jot them down. Once the thoughts are written down, you should feel better about moving away from them.
Use your bedroom for sleep and sex only. This helps to condition your brain that this space is only for those activities.
Keep your room cool. When we sleep, our body temperature naturally drops, b. By keeping your room cool, you can expedite this process. Also, if youwe are too warm during sleep it can encourage tossing and turning or, restlessness, and even waking up during the night. I keep my room at 65 degrees Fahrenheit or 18 degrees Celsius.
Keep your room dark. We are immensely impacted by light,. This can be beneficial for our health and sleep when we experience light exposure at the right times, but it can negatively impact our sleep. If we experience light on our skin while sleeping, this can disrupt our circadian cycle, and decrease the quality of our sleep. You can use black out shades over your windows. My room is so dark that when the lights are off, I can’t see my hand in front of my face. Keeping bright lights off during the evening can also increase dopamine levels throughout the day.
Make your room as close to zero EMF (electromagnetic fields) as possible. Remove/unplug/set time to turn off smart devices and wifi, turn put your phone on in airplane more mode, or keep it out of your room. When we you sleep we you should have zero to extremely minimal amounts of EMF exposure. If you want to take EMF reduction to the next level, you can ensure your room has no electrical wiring, you can use EMF- blocking paint, or you can purchase a faraday Faraday cage that can enclose your bed HERE is the one I have. Use code KAYLA for 10% off.
Leverage Sunshine sunshine to help you sleep at night. We will go into this in- depth later, but for the best sleep at night, expose yourself to sunshine immediately upon waking. This helps to set your circadian rhythm for the day, s. Sunlight into the eye’s signals to the brain that it is time to wake up. I also suggest viewing sunlight at sunset, as this further anchors your circadian rhythm and informs the brain that the sun is setting and sends signals for the body to begin winding down. (Getting sunshine within an hour of waking will also trigger a dopamine release and will boost your dopamine receptors, so the circulating dopamine will bind more easily.)
Consider a magnesium supplement. Magnesium is critical for many cellular processes in the body, and it is important for sleep. You can have your magnesium levels tested, but most humans are deficient in magnesium so odds are you would benefit from a full spectrum magnesium. (fFull spectrum magnesium has multiple forms of magnesium’s. If you are deficient in one form, you are most likely deficient in multiple forms.) I also love topical magnesium sprays. After my evening shower I enjoy the ritual and sleep boosting benefits of applying a topical magnesium spray. I always keep a bottle next to my bed. Shop BiOptimizers Magnesium Breakthrough HERE. Save with code KaylaB.
Avoid caffeine and stimulants too late in the day. Caffeine acts as an “adenosine receptor antagonist.” Adenosine is a substance in your body that promotes sleepiness. Caffeine blocks the adenosine receptor to keep you from feeling sleepy. Caffeine reaches a peak level in your blood within 30 to 60 minutes. It has a half-life of 3 three to 5 five hours. The half-life is the time it takes for your body to eliminate half of the substance. Some people metabolize caffeine faster than others, which you can find out by a genetic test, but it is a healthy practice to stop consuming caffeine after 2 p.m., but iIf you find that your sleep is still being affected, you may need to stop drinking caffeine even earlier. One study found that caffeine taken six hours before sleep still reduced total sleep time by one hour.
Purify Your Air. Ensuring your room is free from pollutants is key for a great night sleep. I love and use the AirDoctor. (Save $100 when you use code KaylaB)
Sleep on an Organic Mattress. I have an Essentia Mattress! This is 100% organic latex. Shop Essentia HERE (Save with code Kayla) Did you know that most mattresses off gas chemicals that can harm your health and disrupt your sleep?
Here are some key reasons why this happens:
Synthetic Materials: Many mattresses are made from synthetic materials such as polyurethane foam, memory foam, and various adhesives. These materials contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which can evaporate and release into the air.
Flame Retardants: To meet safety standards, many mattresses are treated with flame retardants. These chemicals can break down and release gases over time.
Manufacturing Residues: During the manufacturing process, various chemicals are used, including solvents, adhesives, and finishing agents. Some of these chemicals may remain in the mattress and slowly release into the air.
Plastic Packaging: Mattresses are often wrapped in plastic for shipping. When the plastic is removed, any trapped VOCs are released quickly, causing an initial spike in off-gassing.
Grounding Sheet - As mentioned in my video, I use a grounding sheet to get the benefits of grounding while sleeping. I LOVE all products from THIS COMPANY. Use code Kayla to save!
Tracking with Oura! I have loved and used Oura for about 6 years! It is my favorite health tracking wearable! Shop Oura ring HERE!
Sleep Supplement List: (Take 45 mins prior to desired sleep)
Magnesium Breakthrough (daily)
2 grams of glycine before bed, 3-4 nights per week. (Start with 1 G or 2 caps)
Morning + Evening Sun
There are immense benefits to getting outside to enjoy the morning sun. Getting sun into your eyes every single day is a game changer for health and energy. When you view the sun for 10 to 30 minutes per day, you jumpstart your circadian rhythm, which is your body’s natural sleep/wake cycle. You also get the most bioavailable form of vitamin D from the sun. I recommend wearing the least amount of clothing possible. Please note that you do not need to look directly into the sun—do not hurt your eyes in any way—but the sun flooding the eyes will alert your body that it is time to be awake. This natural alarm clock, as you can think of it, will also help you sleep better at night because your body is aware of the time and can begin producing melatonin more readily later.
Exactly how much time you spend within that 10-– to 30-minute range depends on how strong the sun is and where you are located geographically. In the summer, 10 minutes should be adequate. In the winter, you may want to work up to 30 minutes. You can also download an app called Lux Meter to gauge the sun.
This biohack still works on overcast days or in the winter. There are also a few biohacking devices that I am aware of, such as Re-Timer Light Therapy Glasses or a Sperti Lamp that can mimic the sun and help jumpstart your circadian rhythm. For additional benefit, you can also view sunlight at sunset. This further reinforces the time of day and anchors your biological clock. Do not wear sunglasses during these viewing times, as they will block the sun from entering the eyes.
In general, we have been told that the sun is very dangerous. Although sun exposure is at an all-time low, skin cancer is steadily rising. The sun is an important part of health because it provides energy and vitamin D. Most Americans are deficient in vitamin D, and vitamin D is actually a hormone that is critical for brain health and optimal health overall. I am in no way suggesting spending all day outside in the sun unprotected, but 10 to 30 minutes in the sun is health promoting. Also, be conscious of the types of sunscreen that you are choosing, as there have been many sunscreen recalls due to ingredients being linked to skin cancer. Choose a mineral-based sunscreen instead of a chemical-based one. Mineral sunscreens reflect the sun, while chemical sunscreens are absorbed into the skin and bloodstream.